The Artist's Novel – Part 2 – The Fantasy of the Novel

Second volume of a publication dedicated to the artist's novel, this
metafiction follows a detective investigating the conditions of production
of a novel within an artistic framework.

Why do artists write novels? What impact does the artist's novel have on
the visual arts? How should such a novel be experienced? In recent years,
there has been a proliferation of visual artists who create novels as part
of their broader art practice. They do so in order to address artistic
issues by means of novelistic devices, favoring a sort of art predicated
on process and subjectivity, introducing notions such as fiction,
narrative, and imagination. In this sense, it is possible to see the novel
as a new medium in the visual arts; yet very little is known about it.
This two-volume publication is the first to explore in depth the subject
of the artist's novel.

Part 2, The Fantasy of the Novel, is a research project in the
form of a novel; it examines the process of creating an artist's novel
derived from five episodic performances and an exhibition. The creative
process was affected by the circumstances of production, including
intersubjective relationships usually invisible to audiences. The
protagonist assumes the role of a detective who tries to understand the
conditions under which an artist decides to write, and how this writing is
possible within an artistic setting.

David Maroto (born 1976, lives and works in Rotterdam) is a Spanish visual artist, researcher, writer, and curator. He is the co-curator of The Book Lovers, a research project on the artist's novel, together with Joanna Zielińska.